‘Always say yes to a bag of testicles’: A defence of offal June 26, 2025 Like a character straight out of a Carry On film, the Turkish butcher leaned forward, looked my partner in the eye, and, with a heavy accent and an evil glint, said simply: “Testicles. Testicles.” Then, by way of explanation: “Sheep’s balls.” Though things had taken a surreal and vaguely vulgar turn, his strange sales pitch [...]
Jonathan Yeo on King Charles and collages made from porn June 26, 2025 Jonathan Yeo has painted them all, from super models to Presidents and our very own King. When he unveiled his vast portrait of Charles III last year, the monarch appeared, for a second, to recoil at the sight of the bright red canvas. The moment became a meme and the portrait was fervently discussed and [...]
Chef Tom Sellers interviews former England player Joe Cole June 26, 2025 For our Chef’s Table series, Michelin starred chef Tom Sellers has lunch at his restaurant Story Cellar with former England player Joe Cole. They talk fatherhood, friendship and the future Tom Sellers: We’ve known each other for years now, do you remember when we first met? Joe Cole: Yeah – I came into Restaurant Story and we got [...]
The return of absinthe: What I learned on a green fairy bender June 26, 2025 Absinthe is back on the menu. We sent Kyle MacNeill on a pub crawl of the best places to drink the green fairy to see if it lives up to its fearsome reputation It’s five o’clock somewhere! By that, I mean that’s the literal time where I am, although for a second I’m not sure where [...]
How I discovered the joys of tinned fish June 26, 2025 Until I was in my twenties, I thought tuna was a sort of grey, flaky mulch that tasted of brine and disappointment. I had no concept of what an actual tuna might look like: I’d only ever seen them in the form of a hockey-puck sized cylinder. They might have fished them from the inky [...]
Pop star Estelle tells us what she’d eat for her last meal June 26, 2025 Grammy award-winning British singer, rapper, and actor Estelle tells us what she would eat for her last meal, from West African puff puff to Granadian saltfish and a glass of whisky My mother and my grandma were both chefs. Mum went to school for it, and learned how to cook all these amazing things. She would come [...]
No Glasto? No problemo! Here are the top things to do in London June 25, 2025 With thousands of Londoners trading the concrete jungle for the fields of Glastonbury, you could be forgiven for thinking the world’s greatest music festival is the only thing in the calendar this weekend. But London continues to knock it out of the park, and with the temperatures rising to a positively Mediterranean 31 degrees, here [...]
Eat, drink, sleep, repeat: Foodie delights in Dubai June 25, 2025 Martin Williams is one of the judges for our first Toast the City awards. Here he tells us about his recent trip to the gastronomic paradise of ever-sunny Dubai. The Serpentine Summer Party never disappoints. After a wonderful lunch at Petrus, I found myself enjoying Mujen Sochu Cocktails, created by the bar legend Tato Giovannoni, who [...]
London food scene says farewell to Richard Vines at Quaglino’s June 18, 2025 On Tuesday evening the great and good of the London restaurant world gathered at Quaglino’s to celebrate the life of food writer Richard Vines, who died earlier this year. Vines was the restaurant critic for Bloomberg for 26 years until his retirement in 2021. Known for his natty sense of style – paisley shirts and [...]
Best vineyards to visit this English Wine Week June 17, 2025 England is bursting at the seams with bucolically beautiful places to visit. With over 1,000 vineyards up and down the country it would be such a waste not to spend at least a few weekends wandering through them and trying exciting wines – especially with English Wine Week upon us! Last weekend I drove an [...]